


Down to the last hair

by Kanrachoi



Category: South Park
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-10 01:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18649720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kanrachoi/pseuds/Kanrachoi
Summary: Tweek is making something for Craig





	Down to the last hair

He focused intensely on the little golden spotted guinea pig scampering around the enclosure. He carefully examined the fur, the pattern, the dark button eyes, the size. He shut his eyes and dumped the animal down the waste chute and pushed the button to liquefy it.

"Not right yet? Craig isn't going to be looking for a difference. Will he really be able to tell it isn't the same hamster?"

"Of course he will! And Stripe is a guinea pig not a hamster" he told Token, narrowing his eyes at his friend. "I would instantly know if someone gave me a slightly different version of my beloved pet. He looks at this guy first thing in the morning, the moment his light switches on. Stripe... is his whole world. His only pet. He loves that guinea pig."

"Maybe we should just tell him, Tweek," Token urged gently. "The time has come to talk of death and dying. He might still be tender over what's happened, but you can't shield him forever. He's an adult too."

"I can't," Tweek snapped. "Not yet. Not after."

"Well you have to at some point! He probably doesn't remember the accident that much anymore anyway. He was in stasis so long healing. All those drugs."

"How can he not remember? The pain when that transport struck him--really Token? Right now, he's finally getting to be happy… and well-adjusted. I don't want to bring it all back. He got Stripe before the accident. He's had that fur ball for three years. One constant, with all the terrible changes. "

"But people in his life will pass to beyond, Tweek. My great grandparents are getting older. So are yours. So are his."

"They're what? Three hundred now? Maybe the next patch will come soon, extend another fifty years," Tweek said, with a sniff. "Death is so rare now. It's just a stupid rodent, Token. I can replicate anything. Isn't that what we do all day, every day? I should be able to do a simple pet for my own boyfriend perfectly. The problem is my lack of clear images. Gah! I didn't capture enough images of it. I can't believe I didn't think to take more just in case. I only have seven."

"Didn't Craig have a lot of pictures stored?"

"I'm not amateur enough to leave him a path! He'd catch on if he noticed I had scanned all Stripe's pics. I'm just lucky it waited to die until he was in class. That gives me a nice long time window."

"What was wrong with the one you zapped?" asked Token.

"The eyes were too small. Stripe's eyes were a tiny bit larger."

Tweek was adjusting his image replicator on his screens.

"What do you think?"

"I think it looks like a hamster."

"You are no help at all. You probably think all furry creatures look the same. But they don't at all. You are always so focused on the DNA of things, all the internal structures and variances. But for me, the outer details are what make our products the best in the world. Remember the first clones? Cats that didn't even resemble the cat being cloned?"

"That was hundreds of years ago, Tweek. But every little speckle? Every little pigment variation? On a guinea pig? What magnification are you using?"

"Just let me handle this," he said.

He watched him continue, absorbed in the miniscule details from the selection of photographs. Craig would likely never notice these details.

"Some people would say," he said gently, "That we are denying Craig something important today. The chance to grow again. To experience death, and grieve, and go on. There are people who argue that death is an important part of life, even for people like Craig. For everyone."

"But this is so simple!" Tweek protested. "It's just a guinea pig... a small thing. And I can do this for him. I can! In a few hours. Token, just let it go."

"Craig is my friend too you know but death is inevitable. We lose people and we lose pets...."

He turned away. He left the lab, walking slowly, his hands beginning to shake. He had to take a moment to pull his composure back together.

It had been three years. He hadn't noticed yet. He wondered if he made the right decision. Someday, he would have to tell Tweek the truth. But Tweek wasn't ready.


End file.
